The 20,000 copies printed for the first issue of the magazine in June 1946 were not all sold. By 1971, the paid circulation had grown to more than 1 million, and the current circulation of more than 2 million places Highlights as the largest paid subscription based circulation of any general interest magazine for kids.
Many of Highlights' popular features that are enjoyed by today's kids were enjoyed by their parents 20 or 30 years ago:
Throughout the history of Highlights, the editorial offices have received letters from readers; most contain children's drawings, poetry and prose for inclusion in "Our Own Pages."
"Every letter we receive from a child gets a personal answer," says Highlights Editor-in-Chief Kent Brown. "We receive approximately 3,000 letters each month. We take our responsibility to our readership seriously."
"Dear Highlights," a page of readers' letters to the editor raising typical problems, appears in every issue. The answers suggest, in many cases, that the solutions lie in a more tolerant and accepting spirit, "and a little patience," says Brown.
"A major complaint of youngsters throughout Highlights' years, and probably many thousands of years before that," Brown says, "is sibling stress, along the lines of: Why does my kid sister have to be such a pain in the neck? And perhaps one third of the problem letters we get concern difficulties with friends. Most of us outgrew the worst of such troubles, and these kids will, too."
